Air Date: Week of October 3, 2003

LOE dips inside our mailbag to see what listeners have to say.

Transcript

CURWOOD: It’s Living on Earth. I’m Steve Curwood. And coming up: Environmental politics and the gubernatorial recall election in California. But first…

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CURWOOD: Time for comments from you, our listeners.

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CURWOOD: Response to our coverage of recent acts of eco-sabotage proved that the same story can be heard in very different ways. Many who wrote in disagreed with our language and with each other. Bruce Tennant, a listener of WJWJ in Beaufort, South Carolina, felt we were too easy on the perpetrators.

“I heard your story on five different terrorist crimes,” he writes. “It was reported in a perfectly neutral way, simply stating what had been done in each case. Neither the host nor your western correspondent said, or even implied, any condemnation of the dastardly acts. To me your coverage shows LOE in a very unfavorable light.”

But Gary Stock, who listens to WUOM in Ann Arbor, took the opposite view.

“Whoa!” he writes. “LOE profiled Mike Leavitt, mentioned George Bush, yet reserved the term 'eco-terrorists' for frustrated activists?! What the Earth Liberation Front does may frighten people. And I don't think you need to endorse their tactics. But I do think you need to focus on the political environment in which such tactics seem to be the last, fading hope of bringing about change.”

Your comments on our program are always welcome. Write us at 20 Holland Street, Somerville, Massachusetts 02144. Our e-mail address is comments@loe.org. Once again, comments@loe.org.

And you can hear our program, and all our previous programs for that matter, by visiting our website livingonearth.org. And while you’re there, enter our contest to win a free fannypack from Patagonia or a year’s membership and some free credits to drive a ZipCar. Winners who like to walk will be able to strap on what Patagonia calls it’s “hip vault.” And those who need wheels for an hour, a day or a weekend can get access to cars like the Toyota Prius without the hassle and expense of owning one. For details on how you can win a Patagonia fannypack or a ZipCar membership, just go to our website, livingonearth.org. That’s livingonearth.org.

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